As Florida truck accident attorneys, it is always sad to see the serious injuries or death caused in a trucking accident. Trucking accidents, also known as commercial motor vehicle accidents involve big rigs, 18 wheelers, delivery trucks, trailers, buses, taxis, and construction vehicles. There are currently more than five million commercial motor vehicles registered in the United States and approximately 500,000 trucking accidents annually. Since 1979, our Florida trucking accident lawyers have represented hundreds of individuals and families that have either been seriously injured or lost a loved one as a result of a trucking accident.

Trucking Accidents Are Different Than Auto Accidents

There are state and federal laws that apply to commercial truck operators and owners, which do not apply to automobile owners. Our Florida truck accident lawyers have intimate knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Rules and Regulations. The federal regulations are required to be followed by not only the driver of the truck, but also the truck owner and the trailer owner. In most Florida truck accident cases the driver of the truck is not the owner of the truck or the trailer being pulled. In commercial truck accident cases against Fed-Ex, UPS, Publix, Tropicana, Coke, Pepsi, U-Haul, Budget, Penske, Garbage Trucks, Greyhound Bus, or any other corporation, it is usually not the driver that owns the truck.

Since most Florida truck accident cases are often against large corporations, it is important that you hire a law firm that has the experience and financial resources to battle these large companies. Our law firm has been involved in trucking accidents against just about every major company that has a fleet of trucks on the road. In order to prove liability in these Florida truck accident cases, we regularly work with accident reconstruction experts, fleet management experts, commercial motor vehicle experts, tire experts, and vehicle dynamic experts.

Beyond proving the fault of the truck driver or owner that caused the accident, we assist our clients in the process of receiving medical treatment from Florida’s most skilled doctors. Due to the amount of damage caused in most truck accidents, the injuries sustained by most accident victims are permanent and they require lifetime medical treatment. An important part of our job is to obtain compensation for our client’s past medical bills and all medical bills to be incurred in the future. We work with our client’s doctors and vocational rehabilitation experts to develop a life care plan that will identify the type of future medical treatment and the amount of money necessary to pay for all future medical care.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) statistics, large truck accidents in Florida have declined since 2006. However, crash reports indicate that approximately over 3,000 collisions still occur on Florida roadways annually. This number includes both fatal and nonfatal crashes. In 2010, over 3,500 injuries were reported resulting from truck accidents and 137 deaths.

What Are Some Of The Common Causes Of Florida Truck Accidents?

The following are some of the common causes of truck accidents:

Driver exhaustion – Both federal and state law regulate the number of hours a driver can drive in a given day and week.

Improper loading of trucks- A poorly loaded trailer impairs the handling ability of the driver and may cause the trailer to tip. The poor loading of the trailer may affect the ability to control the truck and keep it under control. When determining liability in a truck accident the weight of the trailer at the time of the accident as well as the type of material being hauled must be considered.

Driver inattentiveness- drivers are often on the road for 8 hours at a time and they can easily lose their concentration.

Exceeding maximum load- Drivers must have specific qualification in order to haul specific cargo. Additionally, a driver cannot exceed specific weight limits or the vehicle will be even more dangerous to operate.

Negligent Hiring – Many truck operators fail to do a proper background check on the drivers that they hire to drive their trucks, resulting in the hiring of drivers with either suspended or dangerous driving records.

Driver stress- Drivers have pressure to deliver as many loads as they can in a timely manner in order to make more money.

Driver use of drugs or alcohol- Some drivers turn to illegal drugs to get a boost to stay awake. Trucking companies are required to make a mandatory substance abuse screening when each driver is hired. Truck drivers are also required to do regular screenings to monitor for substance abuse. In any commercial truck accident, a driver is required to submit to a blood test within 4 hours.

Driving with an unsecured load – Some drivers fail to properly secure or maintain the trailer they are hauling.

Improper inspection and maintenance of trucks- Rigorous inspection and maintenance of the tractor and trailer is required legally and should be performed by the driver at every stop.

Bad weather- Road conditions caused by rain contribute to a large percentage of truck accidents.

Negligent passing, speeding, and failure to adhere to the rules of the road- Trucks are particularly dangerous when driven at a high rate of speed given their size and the longer breaking period to stop. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that over 25% of truckers involved in a fatal crash had a prior conviction for speeding on their record.

Florida Truck Laws And Regulations

The commercial trucking industry is an important part of our nation’s economy. Trucks of all types carry materials and goods back and forth across our country’s roads, from 18-wheelers, to oil and gas trucks, moving trucks, construction vehicles, tour buses and more. Yet, these vehicles are dangerous.

Many people are not familiar with the commercial trucking industry, except when sharing the roads with trucks and upon hearing of truck-related accidents. In fact, commercial motor carriers must comply with strict regulations. When injured in a truck accident, it is important to be aware of trucking industry regulations so you know what to look for and to maximize your claim.

At Dell & Schaefer, we have been maximizing clients’ injury claims since 1979. Throughout all of Florida, our firm provides the hands-on, dedicated representation clients need after being injured in a truck crash.

Failure To Follow The Rules – How The Trucking Industry Causes Accidents

Within the trucking industry, all involved must follow strict regulations, including drivers, owners and more. Failure to do so can result in careless driving, dangerous equipment or other unsafe conditions. Thus, by failing to comply, accidents result.

As a driver, passenger, pedestrian or other victim, you must protect yourself. Our team of attorneys has a thorough understanding of federal and Florida truck laws. We are talented trial advocates with vast experience in personal injury and truck accident cases. We zealously represent Florida clients injured when safety regulations were not followed. There are many procedures and precautions in place to make the roads safer when shared with trucks. Yet, the industry has far to go. In the meantime, statistics show innocent people are hurt or killed every day because standards like those above are disregarded. We fight for the justice and compensation you deserve.

Florida Automobile Accident Settles For Policy LimitClient Gets Struck By A Truck Our client, a middle aged man with two children was driving his vehicle in Hollywood, Florida. Suddenly and without warning, his vehicle was struck when a truck ran a stop sign and T-boned our […]

Our client, an 18 year old man, was driving across an intersection when he drove underneath a tractor/trailer truck. Upon impact, our client’s vehicle caught on fire and he suffered severe burns to his body. We pursued our case against the owner of the truck. The case was settled at a court ordered mediation for $640,000.

Our client, a 52 year-old husband and father of 2 minor children, lost his life when a commercial truck caused his vehicle to leave the highway and rollover into a canal. On behalf of the surviving wife and 2 minor children, we filed a wrongful death action against the owner and driver of the commercial truck.

Through working closely with our investigator and accident reconstruction experts, we were able to prove that the driver of the commercial truck was at fault for the accident. The case was resolved for the defendant’s policy limits of $1,000,000.

Commercial Truck Accident Victim Receives $650,000Our client, a thirty nine year old mother of three children, was driving to her Miami Florida home after a long day at work. Suddenly and without warning, the defendant ran a stop sign and T-boned our client on the […]

A delivery truck t-boned our client at an intersection. The defendant claimed no liability. Our client was hospitalized for 3 days and suffered a brain injury.

A garbage truck driver negligently ran over our client’s foot resulting in loss of a toe and several surgeries. The garbage truck company denied liability.

Our clients were brother and sister participating in a church outing to Orlando with 16 other children. The church bus driver lost control on the highway and the commercial bus went into a canal. The sister was seriously injured and her brother drowned.

An 18 wheeler truck improperly changed lanes causing our client to lose control of his vehicle and go off the highway into a canal. Our client, the driver, drowned as a result of the accident. The trucking company paid their policy limits.

An 18 wheeler trucker at a loading dock backed into our client while he was parked in his 18 wheeler truck. Our client sustained serious injuries resulting in neck and back surgery.